Tiger Woods makes his way to the first tee with caddie Steve Williams during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
/ AP

Tiger Woods gets instructions from caddie Steve Williams before teeing off at the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)— AP

Tiger Woods gets instructions from caddie Steve Williams before teeing off at the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
/ AP

Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)— AP

Tiger Woods reacts to missing a birdie putt on the 16th green during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
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Tiger Woods, left, walks down the 16th fairway with K.J. Choi of South Korea during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)— AP

Tiger Woods, left, walks down the 16th fairway with K.J. Choi of South Korea during the first round of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., Thursday, April 8, 2010. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
/ AP

AUGUSTA, Ga. 
If you wanted to see him fail, a golf course was probably the last place to look.

Tiger Woods might have lost his moral compass. But his swing hasn't gone anywhere.

He striped what might have been the most pressure-packed shot of his career off the first tee, then hit his approach shot 12 feet left of the hole - this as a plane circled lazily overhead towing a banner that read: "Tiger: Did you mean Bootyism?"

Woods' birdie try at the first hole narrowly slid past the cup and spun away. Four other times his birdie tries hit the lip and spun out. He let a half-dozen similarly good birdie opportunities on the back nine get away - this time with a plane towing a different banner: "Sex Addict? Yeah. Right. Sure. Me, Too!"

For all that, Woods still shot 68, his lowest opening round ever at a Masters tournament he's won four times. If nothing else, no matter how the rest of his time here goes, this performance should put to rest any notion that how Woods plays golf has anything to do with how he behaved.

And remember: If only half the stories of his extramarital flings are true, Woods already won a dozen times around the world knowing full well his secret could blow up at any moment. When he said this time that he feels more comfortable on a golf course than just about anywhere else, it never rang more true.

"I normally do feel pretty good on the golf course. Sometimes," Woods said, "it may be a little difficult at home when helicopters are flying overhead, taking pictures. But normally, I do feel pretty good."

He was cheered on the range, on the practice putting green alongside the first tee and everywhere else he stepped. The closest thing to derision were muttered conversations along a few fairways, where clusters of friends either dared one another to yell something nasty, or wondered whether anybody else might. No one did.

That certainly had something to do with all the extra security crisscrossing the grounds. Even when Woods sneaked over to a portable toilet on the 11th hole, he was trailed by two guards. He was also escorted all the way around by Team Tiger, which consisted of a dozen people at various times, but always included his mother, Kultida, swing coach Hank Haney, Nike boss Phil Knight, agent Mark Steinberg and a few staff members from the Tiger Woods Foundation.

The cheers were tentative at first, with fans looking at one another as if all of them were searching for the right tone. But soon enough, the applause gathered steam in direct proportion to how Woods was playing.

When he walked onto the 12th tee, he politely tipped the bill of his cap, then realized those in the gallery just ahead of him had popped up out of their seats. Woods took his cap off to the still-standing ovation, then moments later, hit his tee shot at the par-3 hole just 6 feet below the pin and responded to the full-throated roar by taking his cap off again. Half-embarrassed, he followed that with an awkward smile.